Careless, sailing and road trip

- I'm getting loads of vacation photos from friends and family and a couple of them caught my eye. Friend Bonnie took this photo of someone's beautiful little balcony in Venice. I love the sort of careless way the pots are arranged.

- My cousin Susan took this photo from a cruise ship sailing through Monaco. These were school kids in a sailing class. I love the precise way they are lined up and spaced apart.

- The whisper of the river. This will be my view for the next couple of days. I am joining my sister in North Carolina. The river is calling my name...

Have a great weekend, friends!

Red gold, no diet tonight and a love song

- Walking through the printing plant early yesterday morning, friend and co-worker Bobby says, "Get some tomatoes." Ah - home grown tomatoes. He brought in a bucket full of them to share. I asked if his vines were overflowing and he nodded, he and his family are almost tired of them already. But they are like red gold to those of us with no vines of our own.

- My dinner last night - sandwiches with home grown tomatoes. Fresh bread, Duke's mayonnaise and sliced tomatoes with salt and pepper. Yum.

- There is a funny novelty song I remember from several years ago, "Home Grown Tomatoes - a tender ballad." My favorite line:
There's only two things that money can't buy
That's true love and home grown tomatoes. :)

I linked a YouTube video and here are the lyrics:

ARTIST: Guy Clark
TITLE: Homegrown Tomatoes
Lyrics and Chords

There's nothin' in the world that I like better than
Bacon, lettuce and home grown tomatoes
Up in the morning and out in the garden
Pick you a ripe one, don't get a hard 'un
Plant 'em in the springtime eat 'em in the summer
All winter without 'em's a culinary bummer
I forget all about the sweatin' and the diggin'
Every time I go out and pick me a big'un

/ C - / F - / G7 - / C - / :

{Refrain}
Home grown tomatoes, home grown tomatoes
What'd life be without home grown tomatoes
There's only two things that money can't buy
That's true love and home grown tomatoes

You can go out and eat 'em, that's for sure
But there's nothin' a home grown tomato won't cure
You can put 'em in a salad, put 'em in a stew
You can make your own, very own tomato juice
You can eat 'em with eggs, you can eat 'em with gravy
You can eat 'em with beans, pinto or navy
Put em on the side, put em on the middle
Home grown tomatoes on a hot cake griddle

{Refrain}

If I could change this life I lead
You could call me Johnny Tomato Seed
I know what this country needs
It's home grown tomatoes in every yard you see
When I die don't bury me
In a box in a cold dark cemetery
Out in the garden would be much better
Where I could be pushin' up home grown tomatoes

{Refrain twice}

Beets, no phobia here and two week ban

- The vegetarian food bar at The Rainbow Grocery near my house has the most delicious hot vegetables and entrees. I said not long ago that I would love to get a job there just long enough to find out how they season the vegetables. Delicious and I always look forward to the cooked beets. I love beets. Earlier this year when I was at a retreat with all friends, we had to go around the room and tell something about ourselves that people wouldn't know. I couldn't really think of anything and finally said, "I like beets."

- So this article from The Atlantic amuses me in that it addresses the beet phobia that many people have. The author looked at a comment thread on Chowhound about beets and the funniest one: a person writes that beets "taste like basement."

- Imagine my chagrin when I see that Phase One of the South Beach diet, that I am undertaking for at least two weeks, bans beets for their sugar content. I'm thinking of eating them anyway. Certainly less sugar than the chocolate I eat almost daily. :)

Burst of pink, the cardinals and quiet morning

- The Crape Myrtle trees seem to be bursting out all over. I like this one that I walk by on the way to my front door. It has been adopted by a Cardinal couple who often have a nest in it.

- The cardinals were having a nap above my door sill (apparently) when I opened the back door yesterday morning and startled them. They flew with furious flapping to a nearby tree to collect themselves. I called out "Sorry!" after them as if they would understand.

- Breakfast on the back porch on an otherwise quiet morning. Poached eggs, crisp buttered toast and redbush tea. That and a book - lovely.

Mountain cool, wisp and mockingbird

- A morning view from my back porch on the fourth of July. The air was almost mountain cool and a squirrel (almost captured digitally) sat on a nearby branch watching for a moment before he was startled and scurried away.

- A tiny white haired women sits in a rocking chair on a large porch, her legs drawn up in front of her like a young girl. With a wave of her hand, she points at the blue sky, almost cloudless except for a wisp of cloud that disappears as we watch.

- It is the 50th anniversary of the publication of "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee. Someone asked not long ago what my favorite book is. I automatically answered with this book because it was probably the first adult book I read at the age of 13. It left a lingering impression. A couple of years ago I attended a live version of the play, based on the book, in Monroeville, Alabama, home of Harper Lee. The play began outdoors in front of the old courthouse and ends inside in the courtroom. The courtroom was recreated in a set for the film. It was surreal to walk into that courtroom with its balconies and arched windows and watch the ending. I asked about Harper Lee (she is called Nelle there) and if they ever see her. She is fiercely private and still lives in Monroeville. They let her be.

Day is done, blush and bashful and little gift

- Leaving a book signing and seeing this vision of the sky and setting sun over the city of Decatur, Georgia.

- Reading dooce's blog yesterday in which she had a guest blogger, her friend Sarah, and laughing out loud at the title of it: Blush and bashful. It's all about her impending nuptials, but it made me think of how my sisters and I love the movie "Steel Magnolias" (we get a kick out of the fake southern accents.) :) That line in the movie was spoken by Shelby who announced her wedding colors are "blush and bashful" and her mother piped up and said, "her colors are pink and pink." Anyway - I digress - the post is a hoot.

- Having a chat with the volunteer coordinator at my favorite non-profit, the Georgia Radio Reading Service (for the blind and print-disabled.) I record the New York Times Book Review that airs on Sunday evenings. She asks if I am OK with sticking with that program and I tell her how opening the book review every week to choose the reviews I will read always feels like a little gift. And hopefully the listeners feel that way, too.

Another gift: the weekend! I hope you have a great one!

Arrangement, soon-to-arrive and canine capers

- The Madison-Morgan Cultural Center always has flower arrangements like this around - my favorite kind of loose arrangement that creates a kind of happy profusion of flowers.

- Taking a baby gift to a favorite client and getting to see the soon-to-arrive baby's room. The initial sonogram suggested a boy, but for some reason the baby changed to a girl later. So the yellow and green room now has a few touches of pink thrown in.

- She works at home and her dog Scout LOVES me and gets so excited when I visit. I found out that he loves the UPS man, too, so I don't feel too flattered. She and her husband taught him a trick - walking through their legs from behind. The first time I went there and he walked through my legs, I almost fell over in (amused) astonishment. Now he takes great delight in displaying his trick each time I visit. :)